About Me

If you know me, then you DEFINITELY know that you have found the “right” me; I’m that qwerky chick who likes to put the pixels on their sides with her conceptual style of photography!

However, if you are new to me, then let me lay down some knowledge for you:

JuxtaPixels Photo and Design is the birthplace of Shantha Marie Fountain as a photographer. I have been creating art since I was a child, but have become very camera focused with those mixed digital/traditional mediums. I began to realize, with a fine arts background, that you could receive some form of instant gratification (something I love) through photography. Now, when I say instant gratification, I am definitely not saying it is easy, but when you worked in oils as long as I have, you realize that cameras are much faster to process than the weeks, months, or years it can take to complete painting.

When asked not too long ago about what fascinates me the most with portraits and retouching, I said, “Retouching, to me, is removing the distractions to show the true beauty of the subject”, and it is true. I speculate that I use the same tools to draw the viewer’s eye to different things as I did in fine arts from my past. I don’t believe in changing the subjects appearance to the point of creating a stranger in the pixels, I think that would do a disservice to myself and those that I capture, but to get the world to see all those amazing qualities that I see when I am behind the lens, now that it something to really put pride in.

While photography and art is currently a side gig – conceptual work can be purchased through a few different means, so contact me if you are looking for something specific of mine and through contract work in the Lee county and surrounding areas; I am also a Project Manager at a college in the greater Fort Myers Florida area, and I keep the online course development running smoothly with my slightly OCD behavior. That is just my day job, though (It pays the bills…).

I like to write (blog), read, watch movies (new and old), go on adventures, veg out with my munchkin, play video games, laugh at poop or other inappropriate phallic jokes and innuendo; I like techy things and geeky things galore. For fun, I like to paint and draw or dream of my next tattoo. =)

Recently, I decided to go back to school again, which will be my second time. The first time was for a network engineering degree and now I am going back for art; you know, that thing I am passionate about?!?!

I am of Russian descent and enjoy cooking (and eating) foods from all over the globe. Cultures of other countries fascinate me, and I love to observe them. Human nature is one of the most amazing and terrifying things.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed.”

and

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

~Albert Einstein~
(An amazing human being)

Is that what really makes up me? Of course not! This is only the introduction, remember…

“Remember the high board at the swimming pool? After days of looking up at it you finally climbed the wet steps to the platform. From there, it was higher than ever. There were only two ways down: the steps to defeat or the dive to victory. You stood on the edge, shivering in the hot sun, deathly afraid. At last you leaned too far forward, it was too late for retreat, and you dived. The high board was conquered, and you spent the rest of the day diving. Climbing a thousand high boards, we demolish fear, and turn into human beings.”

well, I guess I’ve arrived at simillar idea, my blog is mostly about quote + painting combinations. so yeah, I’d love to follow your work, it’s different enough. all in all I believe modern art is about operating with the art already done, juxtapositioning and so on and so on and so on. good luck :>